In its world premiere at Sundance, the independent production Fair Play (Fair play) caused a sensation and provoked a bidding war of the kind that every festival dreams of. Netflix won by paying the tidy sum of 20 million US dollars. This is appropriate for a film set in the world of high finance. The name “erotic thriller” that has since been attached to it is, however, misleading, or finally, reductive. Without taking anything away from the genre that gave us flagships like Body Heat (Fever in the body) And Basic Instinct, Fair Play and its author, Chloe Domont, have much more to offer than simple titillation.
It is the power relations between men and women in both personal and professional spheres that interest the director and screenwriter. Recently met exclusively at the Toronto International Film Festival, Chloe Domont confides that she built her film around a very intimate initial concern.
“It all started from an impression I felt: I experienced my success – as relative as it was at the time – as a failure. It came from the fact that I was dating men who felt threatened by my success. With the slightest accomplishment in my career, with the slightest step climbed, I had the impression of losing something in my personal life. I wanted to transpose that to the screen. »
Thus was born the character of Emily (Phoebe Dynevor). A low-level financial analyst for a big Wall Street hedge fund, she is engaged to a colleague, Luke (Alden Ehrenreich). However, their relationship must remain secret since their employer prohibits such unions within the company. Company where Emily is also one of the rare women.
By her own admission, Chloe Domont could have placed her plot in her own field, directing remaining a predominantly male profession despite encouraging progress.
“I chose high finance for two reasons. First, I wanted to explore an environment that is foreign to me. Then, I liked the idea of very high financial stakes paralleled by equally high relational stakes. It was conducive to tension. It also provided the story with a workplace whose toxicity could rub off on the couple’s relationship, and vice versa. All this comes to form a vicious circle from which Emily cannot escape. »
Divergent needs
From the first act, Emily experiences a situation exactly like the one depicted from the outset by the filmmaker. Even when Luke thinks he’s about to be promoted, it’s Emily that he is. She therefore becomes the hierarchical superior of her boyfriend (and of several other gentlemen who are alternately hostile or bootlickers). And Emily goes out of her way to make Luke shine at work, both to spare the latter’s bruised ego and to buy peace in private.
Except that it quickly becomes obvious that when it comes to expertise and instinct, Luke is no match for Emily. He swears he’s happy for her, but his resentment is evident in every passive-aggressive comment he makes.
“For me, the needs of the characters are what propels a story,” explains the filmmaker.
“In this case, Emily’s emotional needs, linked to her romantic relationship and her career, propel the story: she tries to maintain both, to reconcile the two, but it ends up imploding because of this times, of Luke’s emotional needs. Luke trying to reclaim his self-esteem and his masculinity, but looking for it in all the wrong places… There are things inside him that Luke is incapable of dealing with, and it comes out in the form of poison. »
From the beginning, Chloe Domont’s intention was to have the latent toxicity in Emily and Luke’s romantic relationship and the more apparent toxicity in their work relationship intersect until they collide.
“It’s a bit like watching a train derailment in slow motion, to use the established expression. »
The director prepared this derailment with the greatest care.
“I mapped out all the scenes months before filming, first on my own, then with my director of photography [Menno Mans]. There we delved deeper into cinematic language, camera movements, etc. I am convinced that everything that appears in a plan must be an intention, a choice. Why place the camera here rather than there for this shot, with Emily close by and Luke further away? Because I want us to perceive that she feels strong at this precise moment, and that he feels small, to give a simple example. »
In fact, even more than a derailment, Chloe Domont wanted her film to produce the effect of a time bomb.
“I wanted to make sure that, visually, we felt the ticking. »
Embrace Intensity
In addition to a handful of hot sequences, the film includes a very harsh one, the content of which we will keep quiet.
“We rehearsed for two weeks before filming: it was essential,” says Chloe Domont.
“I was able to check what worked and what didn’t. It allowed me to change certain things. Phoebe and Alden knew what to expect in terms of intensity: there are few “light” scenes in the film,” notes the filmmaker with a hint of a smile.
“But Phoebe and Alden both embraced that intensity. »
As we mentioned, the reviews since Sundance and TIFF have been rave. When asked how she would like the public to receive her film, Chloe Domont responds without hesitation:
“I hope people will ask — and wonder — questions. Questions about power dynamics within romantic relationships, and within work relationships. How can we dismantle this toxic link that exists between women’s access to power and men’s fragility? How can we demystify and deconstruct the concept of masculinity that dictates to men how they are supposed to feel and react? How do we go about creating a safe space for men to talk about what they perceive as a threat in order to allay their fears once they are expressed? These types of questions. »
After a break, Chloe Domont continues:
“We don’t talk enough about these problematic situations: it’s one of the main reasons why I made this film. These power dynamics exist, but it’s like we’re afraid to talk about them, collectively. I wanted to help start a conversation between women and men. We need to stand together, now more than ever given the state of the world, and these power dynamics hinder this necessary solidarity. »
The film Fair Play releases in theaters on September 29, then on Netflix on October 6.